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Fritz Eichenberg
described sacramental
artwork as being the
outward sign of
inward grace
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Trained in graphic arts,
he became a book illustrator
specializing in wood engraving
.
A variation of this is called
white-line engraving, which is
a method using end-grain
hardwood panels
.
Carving on this surface
supports fine detail
.
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The following
images were printed
signed and published
in 1955 as a portfolio
Ten Wood Engravings
For The Old Testament
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The first print
summarizes the seven
day creation story
in the book of
Genesis
:
The First Seven Days
Genesis I
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If you are seeing this
on a small display, I hope
you can see the amazing detail.
I encourage you to pause for
a moment to really see
what is there
…
as
your eye
scans down the
image it passes through
the days of creation; light
& dark, sun & moon, sky
& cloud, land & plants,
fishes & birds, all
the animals,
then
us
…
and the seventh
day was rest
.
All of the
above was only
Chapter One
!!!
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If
Chapter One
is the physical description
of the place we find ourselves,
Chapter Two begins another story
of the creation that focuses
on our relationship
with God
.
Given our
mission statement
to ‘be fruitful and multiply’,
extending the garden out to cover
the earth, we are cautioned not
to eat from the tree of the
knowledge of good
and evil
.
In this we learn
that in opposition to
the nourishment provided
by God, there is an opposing
presence that separates
us from Him, called
the serpent
.
After eating the forbidden fruit,
our eyes are opened and we
are ashamed of our
nakedness
:
“And Their Eyes Were Opened”
Genesis III
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After
seeing all the
pain & suffering we
cause each other in the
following generations, God
regrets the situation and
tries starting over with
one good family
.
Here is
Noah opening
the ark after
the flood
:
“And In Her Mouth Was An Olive Leaf”
Genesis VIII
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Guess What
???
The flood
didn’t improve
the situation, and
people continue
to rebel
.
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God tries a
different approach
;
He makes a covenant
with Abraham that his
family & descendants
would be a new
start
…
His People
He even rescues
Abraham’s relatives from
Sodom before the destruction,
but Lot’s wife turned back
:
“And She Became a Pillar of Salt”
Genesis XIX
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Never
completely
giving up on us,
God sent messages
into the world using
people as Prophets
.
For example, before
the Babylonian captivity,
Jeremiah warned Israel to
repent for their injustices
to widows, orphans
and immigrants
:
The Lamentation of Jeremiah
Jeremiah V
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Eichenberg
chose the book of Job
for one of these engravings,
which is the story of a man
being severely tested in life
,
and the reactions to his
hardship by three
of his friends
:
The Book of Job
Job II
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The book of Jonah
is used as an example of
a reluctant prophet, who was
given an assignment by God
and immediately tried
to run the other
way
:
The Book of Jonah
Jonah I-IV
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All of these
stories are pointing
towards the hope of a
final solution, where we
find a way to live with
God and with each
other in peace,
joy and
love
:
The Peaceable Kingdom
Isaiah XI
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A
shepherd boy
named David gathers
the tribes of Israel together
and binds them into a
unified Kingdom
:
“And David Took a Harp”
Samuel XVI
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I don’t understand why
Eichenberg would choose
this final engraving to be
the end of the series
.
The book of Judges
is far earlier than Isaiah’s
vision or the time of David;
ancient times before
the Kings
.
Man tried
managing himself
and failed miserably
.
Sex and Violence
.
Mass Murder
.
Samson
was the last
of the six Judges,
and he lost his
strength
:
“And His Strength Went From Him”
Judges XVI
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Well,
that’s not
the end of the
story, but it’s the
end of Eichenberg’s
series of engravings
.
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Eichenberg printed
these images in 1955 on
ivory simile vellum wove
30.8 cm x 15.4 cm
and published
them in the
portfolio
Ten Wood Engravings
For The Old Testament
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Here’s the Frontispiece
of the Portfolio
:
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Note that the title
for number 9 is listed as
“And David Took a Harp”
The hand-signed print reads
“And David Played the Harp”
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The
icon for
this article
is a detail from
Fritz Eichenberg’s
“And David Took a Harp”
:
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